Things that try eating you when out and about

[Karla]

I was inspired by a comment Hymie's introduction about alligators being common but the mosquitoes being the real predators.

There have been a couple of articles in the news recently about Snapping turtle terrorising a Bavarian lake which bit through an eight-year-old boy's Achilles tendon while he was swimming.  They've drained the lake, then filled in a very tiny bit to try enticing it out and are currently dredging all the mud trying to find it. The trouble is that it can hibernate for two years in the mud.

There's also been an article about a testicle-biting cousin of piranha caught in Paris. The British press are now wondering if it is coming to Britain. This one for example has a picture of a man in standing in the River Thames  with the caption 'May want to reconsider'.

These are all very rare and exceptional circumstances but it might stop people from considering wild swimming. Personally I have more of an issue with horse flies (they're called cleggs in Scotland and bremsen in Germany). They seem to particularly like me and when they bite I can react badly to them. They're more a nuisance though as I have to spend just as much energy swatting them away from me as walking along. And the fact that I have been bitten through a T-shirt before means that it's not any worse being naked despite what people may expect. I hate them more than the Scottish highland midge because at least you can get used to them and can find ways of dealing with them (mainly don't stop moving and find a windy place to sit down). Also after a few years your immune system becomes more used to them and stops reacting.

Ticks are loathsome as well but we put plenty of raw garlic in our food, chucked in at the last second and this seems to stop the ticks from biting. It's possible that it might disguise the smell that would attract mosquitoes as well but I need to do more tests. I know the Scottish highland midge are attracted to the smell of sweat and breath.

I'm also a bit cautious of having water from streams splashed near my eyes in case it contains Acanthamoeba. There have been a few scare stories in the UK press about eyeballs being eaten away, but this is mainly aimed at contact lens wearers who use tap water.

Generally though there are ways to keep pretending to yourself that humans are at the top of the food chain. It would be interesting to hear what other parasites and predators people have to contend with around the world and how to minimise the risk.

[jbeegoode]

In southern Arizona, here, there are some mosquitoes in the city and the farmlands, but the desert is free. That was a strong part of my choice of domain. The ones in the city are relatively new. The water company tried an experiment with reeds and...now we have West Nile virus. Indigenous "kissing bugs" get sleeping people in the evenings at certain times of the year. For some reason, they have never gotten around to naked me.

We have very potent scorpions, but covering bare feet at night, when it is cool and they come from under their shelters. They are defending themselves. Soles have to be covered, most of the time, especially the hot days.

It would sometimes seem that everybody on the desert is out to get you, especially a beginner. I have learned to coexist. The prickery, scratch, biting problems that I refer to are the rattle snakes, but mostly, nearly every plant has protections. Talk with the plants, respect them, try not to disturb them and things work out, with awareness.

Over 90% of the riparian areas in the state have been destroyed, by development, by well drilling, dams for cattle, or the cattle themselves. The major concern in a pond is who is stomping mud or defecating up stream. Standing water gets iffy, especially when it is warmed. We have to get fresh rain, go to larger rivers, or get too high in the mountains, on federal reserved lands generally, to consider a swimming hole away from the cattle's destructive influences.

Many years ago I was skinny-dipping with a couple in a slow river deep in the jungles of Ecuador. We got out and watched a hunter clean his days kill, dropping the bloody guts into the water. He lit a fuse on a ball of wrapped green reeds and threw it into the water where we had been swimming. After an explosion, he and his kids jumped in grabbing handfuls of dead piranhas, gathering them into a net bag. It would seem evident, at least in that region, that piranha get more excited about blood in their water, than willys.
Jbee

 

[skin]

I would agree with Carla, that although midges are annoying, cleggs are nasty, vicious beasts.
Whereas midges pierce the skin with thier feeding proboscis, cleggs actually chew a lump of flesh out. At least with cleggs, you can feel their prescence before they do too much damage, but with midges, you don't know they've been until it's too late.
Another nasty is ticks, either sheep ticks or deer ticks which can give you Lyme disease, which is potentially fatal.

[stuart]

I would agree with Carla, that although midges are annoying, cleggs are nasty, vicious beasts.
Whereas midges pierce the skin with thier feeding proboscis, cleggs actually chew a lump of flesh out. At least with cleggs, you can feel their prescence before they do too much damage, but with midges, you don't know they've been until it's too late.
Another nasty is ticks, either sheep ticks or deer ticks which can give you Lyme disease, which is potentially fatal.

Bloodsucking insects are often repelled by garlic, although you do have to eat quite a bit. Whenever we go out we always have a lot of garlic in our dinner the night before, usually thrown into something like pasta or chilli at the last second before serving so it doesn't get cooked.

Okay so you smell a bit but since we started doing it we haven't been bitten by a single tick.

[skin]

I've heard that Marmite may have a similar effect. I eat plenty of garlic and Marmite (not together, that would be wrong!), and I'm usually bothered by beasties, much, although poor wifey generally fares worse, something to do with hormones or pheromones, maybe?

[stuart]

I've heard that Marmite may have a similar effect. I eat plenty of garlic and Marmite (not together, that would be wrong!), and I'm usually bothered by beasties, much, although poor wifey generally fares worse, something to do with hormones or pheromones, maybe?

There's definitely a preference for some people with the blood suckers. I've seen people pick up half a dozen ticks in the same place as people who get none, so it could be something like that. 

[jbeegoode]

Many years ago, I took my second ex-wife to Jamaica for her birthday. She was sweeter than me for sure. I got a few bites, but counted fifty on just her one leg, and she was only just over five feet tall! She wore little or nothing. Imagine how many critters she attracted. She scratched those bites like a bozo and they bled looking more like chicken pox. My suspicions are that the scratch blood attracts. Then also, those sweet scents that so many women like to wear, in their soap, in their hair, etc. 

Mosquitoes come around in the mornings and dusk. I cover-up or get in some fire smoke, until later, if we discover each other. Yours sound as though they never stop.

[Georgew1959]

Just catching up with this thread.....garlic an marmite to deter ticks and midgies. Hadn't hear of that but I'll be givign them both and extended trial this summer. We get a lot of ticks in our garden, though thankfully we don't often get the midges on this side of the Highlands. It's a ritual at the end of every naked gardening day to check myself over head-to-toe for ticks.

We were in New Zealand over Christmas and New Year and there, on the South Island, they have the sandfly. They're as irritating at the clegs and leave a similar itchy lump after you've been bitten. Also, like the cleg, they seemed to go mostly for my legs and ankles.

[peter]

Good to see New Zealand get a mention. The Sandfly is a west coast identity espcially in the south island. They are quite prolific and bite like crazy. I once cycle toured the south island and remember meeting a couple of cyclists heading east from a place called Lyell. The woman was just about in tears after a night in a tent with no inner (to save weight) and she had been bitten all night long! I didnt have too many issues that trip. Vitamin B is reputed to be a deterrent, marmite has high levels of it. I recall Midges after trips to Scotland. Their effect on my legs (swollen bite marks everywhere) is something i remember, even when using "repellent". I am not sure the Midges knew it was meant to repell them, they didnt read the bottle label!

Peter

[Georgew1959]

True enough Peter, there are lots of midge repellants on sale and most have no effect at all. Maybe rather than researching new repellants we should start literacy classes for midges?

One thing I know which does work is smoke. When I first visited Scotland I was a smoker and was very popular whenever I lit up!

[eyesup]

Ticks are loathsome as well but we put plenty of raw garlic in our food, chucked in at the last second and this seems to stop the ticks from biting. It's possible that it might disguise the smell that would attract mosquitoes as well but I need to do more tests.

I grew up in East Texas and we dealt with all sorts of flying bugs and other biting critters, including snakes.  My sister claims to be immune to mosquitoes because her ph levels make her less tasty to them.  I can't speak to the acidity of her metabolism but I can to her personality.

I'm also a bit cautious of having water from streams splashed near my eyes in case it contains Acanthamoeba. There have been a few scare stories in the UK press about eyeballs being eaten away, but this is mainly aimed at contact lens wearers who use tap water.

Here in Nevada, and the southwest US we have another amoebic problem.  Naegleria Fowleri.  It prefers warmer water and if there is an infestation usually there will be a sign posted.  It's referred to as the "brain eating amoeba".  It also gains access by the eye and/or the ear.

Generally I steer clear of hot springs and am careful of gettnig water on my head if I am in warmer water.

Duane

[nudewalker]

I guess the traffic here will be increased with the lack of SNS so now with a quiet Saturday morning there is the chance to reread the posts that were quickly scanned over when first joining. Here all along I had assumed that the lack of tic activity was due to the fact of my hairless body. Now I have to believe that the copious amounts of garlic in my diet not only repel vampires but tics as well. Our area here has been a well publicized area for the little hanger oners and warnings about the potential for Lyme's Disease are a usual spring time news feature. On the few encounters that have been had with textiles it seems that their concern is not with my nakedness but the chance of a tic bite!

As for the mosquitos, our experiences (Mrs. Walker and I) have led us to the conclusion that they are attracted by CO2 concentrations. Due to some medical problems in the past her lung capacity has been diminished therefore seems to emit more CO2 than I. We can be sitting by a campfire with friends and she will be the only one to get bit! That would also lend some credence to eyesup's sisters claim that it had to do with ph levels in the bloodstream as the blowing off of excess CO2 has something to do with maintaining ph balance in the bloodstream.

My nemesis seems to be the biting little flies along the shore of Lake Erie. Once on an excursion around the Magee Marsh area I took advantage of the situation to enjoy a skinny dip on a stretch of beach marked 'for birds only". The swim was wonderful however it washed off the repellant I had liberally sprayed on before beginning my adventure. Some even made it into the vehicle before departing so I was driving and swatting at the same time!

[Karla]

Stuart got Lymes disease last November (late November too). We didn't even see the tick that bit him. It was in our back garden (back yard) in Germany and unfortunately we weren't bothering to put garlic in our food at the time and weren't eating dinners most days. We knew that deer occasionally came in the garden and dropped ticks but didn't expect it to be a problem that close to winter. We had become rather lax about checking ourselves. It's a lot easier to remember when you go off on an expedition rather than checking every day. We got the Lymes disease treated immediately but the course of antibiotics are pretty nasty and have exacerbate existing health problems ever since then.

[stuart]

Stuart got Lymes disease last November (late November too). We didn't even see the tick that bit him. It was in our back garden (back yard) in Germany and unfortunately we weren't bothering to put garlic in our food at the time and weren't eating dinners most days. We knew that deer occasionally came in the garden and dropped ticks but didn't expect it to be a problem that close to winter. We had become rather lax about checking ourselves. It's a lot easier to remember when you go off on an expedition rather than checking every day. We got the Lymes disease treated immediately but the course of antibiotics are pretty nasty and have exacerbate existing health problems ever since then.

Lyme Disease has been such fun. It started with a red mark on my leg, I initially dismissed it as my legs were covered in bruises from two weeks of digging up tree stumps in the garden but the next day it became more inflamed and after a few hours walking in the local town I had a bad limp and was struggling to walk. When I got back to our house I rolled up my trouser leg to have a look at where it was hurting and found this little gem of a rash:



I knew right away what it was. The next day I showed it to the local doctor and I was on antibiotics for three weeks that made me feel absolutely terrible. I've had it confirmed by blood test that it's out my system but it affects you for months afterwards. It takes a long time to recover from.

[nudewalker]

I have had a few friends that fell under the same misfortune as you Stuart and although blood tests show no infection side effects linger. And there are times that the "cure" is worse than the disease. I guess growing up where the nearest town was populated with many Italian's so they influenced my mothers cooking which in turn affected my taste buds. In other words, we use garlic in almost everything! The warnings for this spring were predicting a severe outbreak of tics but so far I have not had to deal with any yet.

Last night there was a woman on social media who had been bitten by a Copperhead snake. The first bite was a warning, the second one the snake injected venom. Her warning was that due to the flooding in the southern part of the country snakes are in places where they have not been before so take precautions. I know how Karla likes to scramble up rocks but that is not a good idea here in the warmer months. A herpetologist once told me that we pass four times as many snakes than we see. Due to our size and heat footprint they tend to avoid humans unless they are threatened.

As the song goes " It's a jungle out there"! Theme song to the TV series "Monk".